News about Gallery

A fine art exhibition exploring global human rights violations and aiming to promote dialogue and social change opens the Spring 2019 semester at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

“The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions” will run Jan. 15 through Feb. 28 at The Gallery at Penn College. A reception will be held Thursday, Feb. 7, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., in the gallery, located on the third floor of the Madigan Library. A gallery talk, delivered by the exhibition’s curator, will begin at 5:30 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

Pennsylvania College of Technology and WVIA Public Media, producers of the “Working Class” public television series, invite elementary, middle and high school students to enter the “Why Science Matters K-12 Art Challenge.”

A large crowd gathered in The Gallery at Penn College Thursday evening to explore the printmaking series, “American Epic,” and listen to its artist describe his process and inspirations. Jesse Shaw delved deep into his childhood experiences, growing up in Hawaii and the rural South, and shared his artistic reflections from discovering the social realism imbued in Mexican murals to committing to his craft on a daily basis. Shaw has completed 29 hand-pulled linocuts in a collection that he intends to grow to 50 pieces. Each intricate artwork takes seven to nine months to carve before it’s printed. Shaw discussed his love of the “authority of black and white” prints and his use of birds as “narrators” and chickens as “underdogs.” The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs through Dec. 12. Gallery hours are 2-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. It is not open on Mondays and Saturdays, and will be closed Nov. 21-25.

The power of printmaking and an artist’s interpretation of the American story will be on display with “American Epic,” Oct. 25 through Dec. 12, in The Gallery at Penn College.

Jesse Shaw, assistant professor of art at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas, has been laboring on his American Epic print series for 10 years, and, so far, 29 pieces of the planned 50 have been completed. Shaw’s hand-pulled linocut prints explore technology, American rituals, consumerism, allegory, printmaking history and religion.

An opening reception will be held Thursday, Oct. 25, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., in the gallery, located on the third floor of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library. A gallery talk will begin at 5:30 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

About 250 community members have participated in educational workshops offered in conjunction with the exhibition, “Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art,” on display in The Gallery at Penn College through Thursday, Oct. 11. The gallery has hosted students from Williamsport Area, Loyalsock Township, South Williamsport Area and Muncy high schools for two one-day sessions, offered a day of workshops for veterans, and conducted a series of public workshops. All outreach efforts were free and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. “Guest artists offered workshops that helped demonstrate how the arts can support positive mental health by reducing stress and give voice to a difficult subject matter and emotions,” said Penny Griffin Lutz, gallery director. “Workshops incorporated mindfulness techniques while focusing on creative art making. By employing the arts, we attempted to build community by bringing residents and artists together to address a societal issue. We aimed to open a dialogue that supported creativity, community and healthy living, and empowered participants.” Lutz gave special thanks to the guest artists who participated: Kevin Basl, Patricia Broderick, Brittany Dincher, Lynn Estomin, Meredith Grimsley, Jeremiah Johnson, Sydney Katona, Nathan Lewis, Andrea McDonough Varner, Beth Moser, Nina Riggle, Brian Spies, Cathy Stechschulte, and Paula Swett.

A large and attentive crowd turned out Thursday evening for a special lecture and reception held in conjunction with “Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art,” the first exhibition of The Gallery at Penn College’s 2018-19 season. Guests gathered in the Madigan Library’s second-floor reading loft to listen to a deeply personal 45-minute talk and visual presentation by “Mindful” artist Meredith Grimsley, a professor of fabric design at Bloomsburg University. The gallery, on the third floor of the library, was active from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with conversation and art exploration. Organized by the Society of Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, “Mindful” will run through Oct. 11. The exhibition also features educational outreach efforts, including workshops as well as daylong events for veterans and high school students. Special exhibit hours are: 1-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 2-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays. The gallery is closed Mondays and on Sept. 1-2.

Offering an opportunity to encounter and understand mental health through the lens of contemporary craft, the first exhibition of The Gallery at Penn College’s 13th season opens Aug. 13 and runs through Oct. 11.

“Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art” studies the impact mental illness has on society, and the role the arts can play in encouraging positive self-expression and guiding effective mental health promotion and treatment.

A reception is set for Thursday, Sept. 6, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the gallery, located on the third floor of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library.

In conjunction with the reception, a special lecture will be offered at 5:30 p.m. in the library’s second floor reading loft. Presented by “Mindful” artist Meredith Grimsley, “Trauma: Legacy, Biology and the Path to Healing” will discuss family history, the endurance of the human spirit and the gift of healing.

The Gallery at Penn College is celebrating its 13th season with a dynamic roster of programming showcasing a range of artistic mediums addressing diverse social topics, including mental health, human rights, consumerism and compassion.

“The new season offers a series of thought-provoking exhibitions that tackle social justice and human rights issues,” said Penny Griffin Lutz, gallery director. “The first exhibition of the season, ‘Mindful,’embraces difficult questions regarding our perceptions of mental health and attempts to bring this common illness out in the open to initiate dialogue and understanding. ‘Mindful’ features work by contemporary artists who have either been diagnosed with mental illness or have been affected by it through friends or family.”

A National Endowment for the Arts grant of $10,000 will support public programming offered by The Gallery at Penn College as part of its upcoming exhibition, “Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art.”

The Challenge America grant is awarded by the NEA to support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations – those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability.

Throughout the spring semester, students in the Nursing Care of Children course shared a unique learning opportunity with homeschool students, each group learning from the other.

Over the course of the semester, small groups of nursing students invited small groups of homeschoolers to campus. Each student group developed a short education session – topics included fire safety and tooth care – then engaged the children in checking blood pressures and heart rates, testing hearing, and other activities.

The Gallery at Penn College filled with around 200 guests on Sunday, celebrating the opening reception of the Regional Juried Exhibition 2018. Forty of the 51 artists featured in the exhibit attended the reception, along with “an incredible outpouring of support from friends, family and art patrons,” according to Gallery Director Penny Griffin Lutz. “We received many positive comments about the quality of the work in the show, as well as the range of media represented,” Lutz added. “We live in an area with many exceptional artists and were happy to feature just a sampling of the creative work happening in our region.” At the reception, six awards were presented: first place and a $750 cash prize to Anna Kell, of Lewisburg, for her painting, “Specimen Bouquet”; second place and a $500 cash prize to Becky McDonah, of Millersville, for her wearable art, “Adorning Implements of Extraction: A Tribute to Tweezers and the Sliver”; third place and a $350 cash prize to Vicki Renn, of Sunbury, for her watercolor, “The Ladies of the Club”; honorable mention and a $250 cash prize to John McKaig, of Williamsport, for his print, “Queer Insomnia II”; the President’s Award and a $200 cash prize to Michael Hower, of Enola, for his photograph, “Lock Ridge”; and the Director’s Award and a $200 cash prize to Joelle Cicak, of Harrisburg, for her sculpture, “The Last of the East Fork Pack.” The exhibition is on display through July 27 in the gallery, on the third floor of the Madigan Library. Summer hours for the gallery are: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. (The gallery will be closed July 1-4, as well as Saturdays and Mondays.)

A celebration of the diversity and quality of regional art will be hosted by The Gallery at Penn College with its Regional Juried Exhibition 2018, set for May 29 through July 27.

Showcasing 63 creative pieces by 51 artists representing 35 Pennsylvania cities and towns, the exhibition includes a reception set for Sunday, June 3, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the gallery, located on the third floor of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library. Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

The fine art display features work by emerging and established contemporary artists. An open-themed exhibition, the show highlights recent work in a variety of styles and media by artists residing within 100 miles of Williamsport. Among the mediums included are: metal, stoneware, textile, photography, printmaking, mixed media, and paintings in oil, watercolor, acrylic, and pen and ink.

Artwork by a dozen graphic design seniors is on exhibit in The Gallery at Penn College, the latest incarnation of a yearend campus tradition. A public reception for “Design 2018” was held Friday evening on the third floor of Madigan Library, where the portfolio display continues through May 10.Photos by J.J. Boettcher, student photographer

Twelve graphic design seniors at Pennsylvania College of Technology will exhibit their work as part of “Design: 2018,” the annual student portfolio exhibition in The Gallery at Penn College.

A public reception for the exhibit’s opening will be held Friday, April 27, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the gallery, located on the third floor of the Madigan Library. The design work will be on display April 27 through May 10.